I've followed thist SMS/TV discussion for a while. Here's an overview of
some implementations in Europe re SMS & TV.
Currently, 50 per cent of SMS-TV proceeds after tax go to the MNO, or E0.40
of an average E1.00 message, with a solution provider taking an average cut
of E0.15. Content providers net the rest.
For those interested, I hope you find this kind of info useful. For those
not, ignore the long post!
Implementations :
UK : CITV
CITV's weekday afternoon kids' TV service was first out of the blocks in
March, with children's channel Nickelodeon following in the summer and
rivals Disney and Cartoon Network also planning to offer text services in
the not too distant future.
UK : CHANNEL 4 & BIG BROTHER
After Channel 4's popular TV show Big Brother 3 came to an end last month,
mobile operator O2, which sponsored the programme, said it had processed a
colossal 6.6 million text messages that were sent in to the show. And of the
6.6 million SMS messages processed by O2, only half were eviction votes,
which cost around STG0.25 each. The remainder were requests for Big Brother
ringtones, logos and news updates; services that cost between STG0.25 and
STG1.50. Total revenues from premium SMS votes sent by viewers of UK TV show
'Big Brother' have topped US$1.3 million.
C4 is also currently exploring SMS interactivity for programmes such as
Shipwrecked, Hollyoaks, Model Behaviour, As If, Dawson's Creek, Popworld,
Smash Hits Poll Winners' Party and Blunt (the more youth-focused lines).
UK : TROUBLE TV
Pay-TV network Trouble has been running shows, such as Text God and Cruel
Summer, with SMS-related interactivity. And Channel 4's Sunday morning teen
strand T4 got with the text generation yesterday.
EUROPE : MTV
MTV runs a programme called Video Clash, which invites viewers to vote for
their favourite video via text message or the Web. Its system is capable of
processing 2,000 messages a minute. MTV's Videoclash has messaging but also
simple 'A or B' voting in which every vote counts. This is better. We are
looking at ideas that allow more complex in-show voting via SMS using
graphical overlays on broadcast or live graphics in an iTV application.
EUROPE : SKY DIGITAL
SkyDigital has launched a dating channel where participants can chat via SMS
NETHERLANDS : TMF
In the Netherlands, Dutch TV company TMF reported that it had to shut down
its SMS service because it was too popular. During the first three months of
the channel's SMS-TV services 50,000 youths registered by creating a digital
passport which includes a photograph. The picture is shown on the television
screen when an SMS-message of the user is displayed.
Dutch TV station, TMF, had SMS-enabled 25 to 30 per cent of its programming,
and interlinks its branded SMS applications such as iMode, Chatbox and the
ID system, with each other, and within the station.
GERMANY : RTL
In Germany RTL II, which runs one of these services, is now generating close
to 200,000 SMS messages each day.
BELGIUM : VTM
In Belgium, the Flemish VTM reports that it receives an average of 15,000
messages per day on teletext chat
NORWAY : TV2
TV2 has introduced the concept of 'Off Time' television whereby the
television screen is used as an SMS message board during the off time hours
of the station.
Graham Brown
http://www.w2forum.com/
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